EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS TO COMPARE THE DEFLECTION OF STEEL BEAM WITH AND WITHOUT WEB OPENINGS

Abstract

As a result of decreasing the cost of steel structures and increasing the stiffness of steel members, several new methods have been adopted. Castellated beams are one of the solutions .Castellated beams refer to a metal beam in which the web portion is firstly divided by a zigzag cut along its lengthwise direction and then welding together its two halves. During welding, the two halves are joined together in such a way that holes are formed in the web portion. This increases the depth of the section and thereby its strength. Castellation means holes. Openings are provided in web portion for the allowance of passage of services through the beam. As the provisions are provided through the web portions, it will help to reduce the effective floor depth. For roofs supported by cambered beams, aesthetic beauty may be considered as an advantage. As castellated beams are same as that of a solid beam, its erection is not a difficult task. In this paper, experimental analysis was conducted to compare the deflection of steel beam without web opening and castellated beam having hexagonal and circular opening. ISMB 150 was selected as the parent section and was used for the fabrication of castellated beams with hexagonal openings and circular openings (cellular beam). Experimental analysis was performed and from that the better shape was determined. Experimental analysis showed that castellated beams having hexagonal openings have more load carrying capacity and lesser deflection as compared to solid beam and beam with circular openings.